Science & Tech · Cybersecurity · 2 hrs ago
Five South Korean bank chiefs to face questions over cyberattacks
The heads of South Korea’s five largest banks will face lawmakers at a National Assembly hearing on Oct.
19.
The hearing follows cyberattacks and customer-data leaks at several banks, including Shinhan, KB Kookmin and Hana.
Shinhan reported 27,527 customer records exposed through a service used by outside loan agents.
KB Kookmin reported leaks affecting 119 customers and employees, while Hana reported 89 customers affected; no customer-data leaks have been confirmed at Woori or NH Nonghyup.
Across 16 financial companies, authorities have identified about 100,000 leaked records, and checks found security weaknesses at 130 of 555 firms.
Lawmakers are expected to question bank chiefs about security investment, internal controls and response failures, as well as regulators’ oversight.
The hearing comes as all five bank chiefs’ terms end on Dec.
31, so their answers may affect decisions about who leads the banks next.
AI-linked cyberattacks have exposed security weaknesses across South Korea’s financial sector, with about 100,000 personal records reported leaked at 16 financial institutions.
The five largest banks’ chief executives are due to appear at a National Assembly audit on October 19 to face questions about security management and incident response.
Shinhan Bank reported the largest confirmed bank leak, involving 25,727 customer records accessed through a service for loan brokers.
A financial authorities’ review found shortcomings at 130 of 555 financial companies checked.
Authorities and companies are considering stronger measures, including AI-based security tools and support for white-hat hackers to identify vulnerabilities.
- Who
- Chief executives of South Korea’s five largest banks, along with financial regulator officials, are expected to face questions.
- What
- The National Assembly audit will examine recent cyberattacks, data leaks, security investment and management responsibility.
- When
- October 19, 2026.
- Where
- The National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee audit of the Financial Supervisory Service in South Korea.
- Why
- Lawmakers are examining financial firms’ security weaknesses, their response to attacks and the adequacy of regulatory oversight.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The government began a project to develop a security-focused AI foundation model.
Demis Hassabis described recent AI-related security incidents as an early warning shot at a conference in Dublin.
A Ministry of Science and ICT official told a parliamentary audit that AI-enabled attacks can be automated and carried out simultaneously in a very short time.
OpenAI held a cybersecurity roundtable for senior executives from South Korean companies.
The five largest banks’ chief executives are scheduled to appear at the National Assembly audit.
- Reported data leaks
- About 100,000 records across 16 financial institutions
- Shinhan Bank leak
- 25,727 customer records
- KB Kookmin Bank leak
- 119 people: 99 customers and 20 employees
- Hana Bank leak
- 89 customer records
- Security review
- 130 of 555 financial companies had reported shortcomings
- National Assembly audit
- October 19, 2026
6 sources
What people are saying
A characteristic is that they are carried out simultaneously, automatically, in a very short time.
Even experts find it quite difficult to determine whether an attack was carried out by AI.
Under the current Information and Communications Network Act, even white-hat hackers testing an attack are committing an illegal act.
early warning shot